Host family information+Introduction to me!

Hello fellow readers,

My name is Claire Lu and I'm currently a 16 year old junior at Monta Vista High School, in Cupertino, California. I aspire to pursue a double major in East Asian Studies and international affairs, and perhaps a minor in Italian in college. Although I am a mere high school student, I have lofty dreams for the future- my greatest ambition is to become an ambassador and facilitate diplomatic negotiations between countries.

Recently, I was notified of my status as a 2014 Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Scholar, which is essentially a joint scholarship sponsored by both the Finnish government and U.S. Senate to foster cross-cultural understanding and to fortify the special U.S. Finland relationship. Besides the opportunity to learn Finnish (a challenging language only 5 million people in the world speak!) and explore authentic Finnish culture (reindeer steak and saunas, anyone?), I will meet my state senators, have private meetings with members of the Finnish Parliament, and receive two special receptions at the American Embassy in Helsinki and the Finnish Embassy in DC. I am so incredibly honored to receive this scholarship, as only 12 American students are selected each year.

Yesterday, I received my host family information! I will be staying in the culturally and historically rich seaside city of Rauma, Finland. Here are some photos from Google Images!

Look at all the bright rooftops!

What a charming and beautiful little city! It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site, due to the immaculate preservation of the Nordic wood used to build Old Rauma.

I will be staying with the Wendelin family- Kari Wendelin, my host father, Marja Wendelin, my host mother, and Charlotta, Ann-Christine and Camilla Wendelin, my three sisters! Charlotta and Ann-Christine both study at the University of Turku, a university about 90 kilometers away from Rauma. Amongst the five of them, NINE languages are spoken- Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Italian!

This summer, I will be documenting all my adventures in the beautiful country of Finland! Stay tuned for updates!

Kunnes seuraavan kerran (which means "until next time" in Finnish),

Claire Lu